Jewelry Brands History
The Hand & Hammer brand of silver jewelry began in 1979 in Woodbridge, Virginia. Its founders were second- and third-generation jewelers William Lawrence DeMatteo, his son Chip DeMatteo (b. 1949), and Philip Thorpo.
However, the brand’s roots go back to 1921, when William DeMatteo’s father, Gaetano Di Matteo, founded his jewelry workshop in New York City.
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At a young age, Eugene Joseff began working in the advertising business in Chicago while learning how to cast jewelry. In 1928, he moved to Los Angeles, where he met some costume designers in Hollywood. Joseff criticized the jewelry that they used in films. He challenged Hollywood to do better, and he did.
Back in the 1930s, jewelry making was just a hobby for Joseff. His workshop was in the garage of his home on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, where Joseff began experimenting with jewelry making. Within five years, most of the jewelry worn by actors and actresses in films was made in Joseff’s studio and workshop.
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A self-taught jeweler and World War I veteran, Stuart Nelson Nye (1884-1962) founded his business in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1933. He had previously worked as a carpenter and had a hobby of tinkering with homemade tools and silver sheets to create jewelry with designs inspired by the leaves and flowers of his native North Carolina mountains.
This hobby later grew into a thriving business producing handmade silver jewelry. The main designs of his work included maple, oak, willow and galax leaves, dogwood flowers, pansies and lilies. Nye made only his own original designs and refused to speed up production by introducing machines.
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The image of a cat in the design of modern and vintage jewelry contains certain symbolism. However, this symbolism is in no way connected with ancient mythology and culture of different nations. Being a universal talisman, the image of this cute pet no longer carries a negative or even devilish meaning.
Quite the contrary, cat is a symbol of magical power and energy that helps people escape from the worst life circumstances. Noteworthy, the symbolism of cat jewelry is contained in the pose, color, and occupation of the cat.
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Born in Bergen County of New Jersey, Stephen Lane Folger (December 27, 1868 – August 28, 1930) was pioneer emblem and medal manufacturer and head of the firm bearing his name. He established Stephen Lane Folger company at 200 Broadway, New York in 1892.
In March 1902 Stephen Lane Folger moved his firm to 180 Broadway, New York. Stephen L. Folger company was known as manufacturer of fraternity jewelry, club and college pins and rings, gold, silver and bronze medals. Since the beginning, Stephen Lane Folger actively advertised his products in various educational and professional journals.
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Henry Abiram Spaulding (1839 – 1904) at one time one of the best known retail jewelers in the United States and Europe. His rise from a hard working boyhood to such an eminent position in the trade is noteworthy. Born in New York, he moved with his parents to Aurora, Illinois, when he was a very small boy.
Having received his education in Aurora, he went to Chicago and obtained employment in the dry goods store. Soon, young Spaulding decided to try his fortune in New York. His first job was at Black, Starr & Frost (then Ball, Black & Co.) where he had worked for a number of years. Then he started his own business Browne & Spaulding at Prince Street and Broadway, New York.
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Born in the Danish village of Raadvad, Georg Jensen (1866 – 1935) was a prominent silversmith, artist, sculptor and ceramist. He graduated from a technical school and became an apprentice in 1884. He later attended the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen and qualified as a sculptor in 1892.
In 1904, Georg Jensen opened his own workshop at Bredgade 36 in Copenhagen, taking with him one apprentice, Henry Pilstrup. The equipment in the workshop was very primitive. There were no machines. All work, including drilling holes, they did by hand.
